Samurai Shodown V Special announced for PS4, PS Vita -- Playable at Evolution 2017 this weekend.

Following a tease this morning, SNK and Code Mystics have announced Samurai Shodown V Special for PlayStation 4 and PS Vita. It will launch this summer and is playable at Evolution 2017 from July 14 to 16.

Samurai Shodown V Special promises to be a proper release of the fighting game, whic was controversial for its level of violence and gore, and heavily censored and full of critical bugs for its original home console release.

Here’s an overview, via the PlayStation Blog:

The Game

Samurai Shodown V Special is one of the most well-regarded SNK fighting games among the fighting game community. It is easily one of the most balanced games in the series and features both brand-new systems and an extra layer of polish on already existing mechanics. The game is designed to place emphasis on the qualities that are unique to the Samurai Shodown series. With much less of a focus on combos and supers, victory in Samurai Shodown V Special at high level play will usually come down to using range and spacing to your advantage.

There are a variety of systems and mechanics that have contributed to the game becoming a favorite among hardcore fighting game fans. Here is a quick rundown of some of the most important systems:

Sword Gauge: A meter that directly affects how much damage you do. Any attack—even whiffs or blocked attacks—reduces the meter and the amount of damage you can do. It slowly regenerates to maximum when you are not attacking.

Rage Gauge: A staple in the Samurai Shodown series. Taking damage fills this meter and once at max it results in increased attack power along with other bonuses. A Rage Explosion command can also be used which can be used to push back your opponent and open up other possibilities.

Weapon Flipping Attack: The super special move of Samurai Shodown V Special. It can be used while the Rage Gauge is at max or during a Rage Explosion. The move will both deal significant damage to the opponent and disarm them.

Concentration One: Only usable under certain conditions, this move will result in your opponent going into slow motion while you move at normal speed. Combined with the damaging Fatal Flash command that can only be used in this state, this command is perfect for staging last minute come-backs.

Overkill Moves: These are ultimate moves that can only be used once during a match against an opponent who is already on the ropes. Landing this move will result in your character executing the opponent with a brutal, visceral secret technique.

The PlayStation 4 / PS Vita Release

As with all of our collaborations with Code Mystics, this release will feature new content such as online multiplayer, a Gallery mode with unlockable art, and trophy support. This will be the first time the game has been available in its original form on a modern console. And we are happy to announce that we will be showing a playable beta of the game at our booth during EVO 2017!